Why Buildings Collapse | Why…?

Duration: 59'55''

Synopsis

In 2021, Champlain Towers South - an apartment building near Miami - collapsed, killing 98 people. This film forensically examines what happened and asks: what went wrong?

Further Information

More clips from Why...?

Containerisation | Why...?

Containerisation | Why...?

BBC One | 2022 | 52''

Highlights the importance of shipping to globalisation.

How containerisation reduces costs | Why...?

How containerisation reduces costs | Why...?

BBC One | 2022 | 2'35''

Explores the benefits of economies of scale to reduce costs for globalisation.

The Suez Canal blockage and supply chains | Why...?

The Suez Canal blockage and supply chains | Why...?

BBC One | 2022 | 4'29''

What was the impact on businesses from the Suez Canal blockage in 2021?

Why Bridges Collapse: The Baltimore Disaster | Why...?

Why Bridges Collapse: The Baltimore Disaster | Why...?

BBC One | 2024 | 59'00''

MV Dali, a huge container ship, crashes into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, tragically killing six people ...

Why Bridges Collapse: The Genoa Disaster | Why...?

Why Bridges Collapse: The Genoa Disaster | Why...?

BBC One | 2019 | 58'49''

The story of some of the people on the Polcevera Bridge on the day of its collapse, investigating what caused the bridge t...

Why Cities Flood: Spain's Deadly Disaster | Why...?

Why Cities Flood: Spain's Deadly Disaster | Why...?

BBC One | 2025 | 58'01''

Dramatic mobile phone video and eyewitness accounts tell the story of the 2024 floods that swept through towns in Valenci...

Why Planes Crash | Why...?

Why Planes Crash | Why...?

BBC One | 2025 | 59'45''

In just six months, four passenger planes have crashed, killing 506 people. Dramatic footage and eyewitness accounts tell the story of a deadly ye...

Why Planes Vanish: The Hunt for MH370 | Why...?

Why Planes Vanish: The Hunt for MH370 | Why...?

BBC One | 2024 | 59'10''

Ten years after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 and its 239 passengers and crew vanished, can new evidence help locate the pla...

Why Sharks Attack | Why...?

Why Sharks Attack | Why...?

BBC One | 2023 | 57'45''

After three recent fatal shark attacks in Egypt, this film investigates whether pressure from human activity and climate change is altering the b...

Why Ships Crash | Why...?

Why Ships Crash | Why...?

BBC One | 2022 | 1'00'05''

When the Ever Given blocked the Suez Canal, it triggered a global crisis. Featuring eyewitnesses speaking for the first time, this documentary aims...

Why Trains Crash | Why...?

Why Trains Crash | Why...?

BBC One | 2024 | 58'00''

On 2 June 2023, a triple train crash killed nearly 300 people and injured more than 800 in India's eastern Odisha state. This film examines what w...

More resources about Engineering and Manufacturing

Episode 1 | Building Cars: Secrets Of The Assembly Line

Episode 1 | Building Cars: Secrets Of The Assembly Line

BBC Two | 2019 | 1'28'11''

As the Mini turns 60, buckle up for an incredible journey into the secret world of the car factory. Every 68 seconds ...

S02E03: Smartphone | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S02E03: Smartphone | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2023 | 59'03''

With rare access to electronics giant Samsung, Hannah uncovers the technological game changers that have made the smart...

S06E06: Chairs | Inside the Factory

S06E06: Chairs | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2022 | 59'09''

Gregg Wallace visits the Ercol factory in Buckinghamshire to follow the production of a Windsor chair. Meanwhile, Cherry Healey investiga...

Episode 1 | The Five Billion Pound Super Sewer

Episode 1 | The Five Billion Pound Super Sewer

BBC Two | 2018 | 58'46''

Following workers across London as they race to build an enormous supersewer. The first episode follows the creation of the fi...

Quality control | Inside the Factory

Quality control | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2020 | 2'22''

Gregg Wallace visits the quality control area of the factory.

Recycling a car | Inside the Factory

Recycling a car | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2020 | 5'58''

Cherry Healey investigates the process of recycling a car.

S07E02: Buses | Inside the Factory

S07E02: Buses | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2022 | 58'54''

Gregg Wallace gets exclusive access to a factory that builds red London buses, while Cherry Healey visits a bus windscreen factory and Rut...

Sourcing and processing timber | Inside the Factory

Sourcing and processing timber | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2022 | 5'09''

Cherry investigates the source of wood used for making Windsor chairs, and the process it undergoes to make it ready for ...

02: The Computer | Inventions That Changed the World

02: The Computer | Inventions That Changed the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'51''

In Victorian times, computing involved crunching numbers with a pencil and paper. A century later, we rely on computers ...

The Science of D-Day

The Science of D-Day

BBC One | 2014 | 28'57''

Engineer Rob Bell explores the new inventions - from giant troop-carrying gliders to tanks that could operate on water - that made the Normandy invasion...

04: The Phone | Inventions That Changed the World

04: The Phone | Inventions That Changed the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 58'30''

Elisha Gray made the initial breakthrough in the invention of the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell 'borrowed' his idea and ...

Concorde: A Supersonic Story

Concorde: A Supersonic Story

BBC Four | 2017 | 59'05''

The life of the most glamorous plane ever built, as told by the people whose lives she touched. Narrated by Sophie Okonedo.

Iron ore mine | Inside the Factory

Iron ore mine | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2020 | 5'30''

Cherry Healey visits the largest iron ore mine in the world.

Moulding the pots with black sand | Inside the Factory

Moulding the pots with black sand | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2020 | 4'30''

Gregg Wallace investigates how the pots are moulded using black sand.

S02E04: Bicycles | Inside the Factory

S02E04: Bicycles | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2016 | 58'59''

Gregg Wallace visits Britain's largest bicycle factory, which produces 150 folding bikes every day, and joins a production line to make...

S03E01E1: Air Fryer | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

S03E01E1: Air Fryer | The Secret Genius of Modern Life

BBC Two | 2025 | 58'46''

Hannah takes a look at the air fryer - a device that is rapidly taking over people's kitchens, cooking up everything f...

Wartime furniture | Inside the Factory

Wartime furniture | Inside the Factory

BBC Two | 2022 | 5'10''

Ruth visits a museum where she finds out the government-approved furniture that certain people could buy with tokens, designed with th...

01: The Gun | Inventions That Changed the World

01: The Gun | Inventions That Changed the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 57'32''

Jeremy Clarkson looks at key inventions that have made a global impact. This week traces the development of firearms and how ...

02: Roads | World's Most Extreme

02: Roads | World's Most Extreme

Channel 4 | 2014 | 47'12''

Exploring the world's most dangerous and inspirational roads.

03: The Jet | Inventions That Changed the World

03: The Jet | Inventions That Changed the World

BBC Two | 2004 | 57'01''

Jeremy Clarkson tells the story of how Frank Whittle pioneered the jet engine and goes around the globe to explore the impact...